Kalamazoo County Gets $1.4 Million to Fix Winter Road Damage

The state will give $1.4 million to Kalamazoo Co. to help it repair roads disintegrating after the harsh winter.

It’s the local share of $215 million state legislators have approved for winter road repairs. A little more than half of Kalamazoo County's award goes to the county road commission; the rest is split between nine cities and villages. The City of Kalamazoo will receive $324,444, Portage $220,852 and Vicksburg $13,903.

County Commission chair Dave Maturen says the money is “welcome,” as it will help the county remedy the damage done this winter and give it a start on what’s expected to be a dismal pothole season.

But he adds it would take many times the amount legislators have approved to undo years of statewide road neglect. He adds that disrepair on many Michigan roadways has reached a “critical point.”

Maturen says more state funds for roads could be on the way, as $115 million of the state's road-repair package is slated for "shovel-ready" improvement projects. The state has yet to announce what those projects are.